Stuck Under The Mistletoe
by creddiefansforum
Summary: Freddie and Carly don't take too kindly to Spencer's latest invention to boost the holiday spirit when they end up in an awkward position together. For fbnk luv. prompt: caught under the mistletoe.


Title: Stuck Under The Mistletoe

This fanfiction is for fbnk_luv.

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Carly wasn't enjoying herself in the least. How Spencer had convinced her to throw a party a few days before Christmas in their apartment was anyone's guess. But here she was, sipping gloomily on some bad-tasting ice tea from a paper cup in the corner of the room. The other party-goers were happily dancing around the living room, completely oblivious to her lack of enthusiasm.

Gibby was dancing in the centre of the crowd, with a gigantic Christmas hat on his head and shirtless – big surprise there. Sam was doing a crazy dance somewhere nearby Gibby with a turkey leg in her hand, completely lost in the music playing overhead. Spencer was standing somewhere in the far corner of the room, spraying an array of multi-coloured crazy string at unsuspecting victims en route to the bathroom, a manic grin plastered on his face.

The only other person in the living room who appeared to be enjoying themselves even less than her was Freddie. He was standing near to the front door, sipping moodily on a stirofoam cup of special Christmas punch that Carly had whipped up herself. Based on his current posture of leaning against the wall, it looked like he was about ready to dive out of the front door the next time somebody opened it. Their eyes met momentarily before Freddie looked away quickly and began striking up an impromptu conversation with a Ridgeway classmate of theirs named Kathy. Carly rolled her eyes at the exchange and turned away, inwardly fuming.

She wasn't sure why it bothered her so much that Freddie was talking (and trying unsuccessfully to flirt) with another girl. She shouldn't care at all, that much she knew. Then again, it had never been about him flirting with another girl, but more to do with their sudden frostiness to each other.

It had all started after they had done a panel for iCarly at Webicon the previous weekend. Everything had been fine until some stupid iCarly fans began asking probing questions about who Freddie was dating of the two iCarly hosts – Carly or Sam. To Carly's horror, Sam announced to the crowd that she (Carly) and Freddie were deeply in love with each other.

The more Carly and Freddie tried to diffuse the situation and explain that Freddie wasn't currently dating anyone, the more out of hand things got. What had been worse at the time was the fact that Adam, the guy that Carly had a crush on from school, didn't believe that she and Freddie weren't dating.

Now Adam was the farthest thing from Carly's mind, ever since Webicon had ended and Freddie had decided to act like a jealous ex-boyfriend. What annoyed Carly most was that Freddie hadn't done his usual song-and-dance at Webicon about being in love with Carly and laying it on thick with the guilt to score sympathy points from the Creddie fans. But he was still acting like he was hurt that she had liked someone else more than him.

Why couldn't things ever just be simple between them? Carly couldn't decide whether she was angry because Freddie had decided to sulk about it after the fact or because he hadn't said the words at all. And that annoyed her most because it felt like a small part of her still wanted him to be in love with her.

Carly couldn't understand where any of this sudden resentment on Freddie's part was coming from. Sure, they had been a couple for a brief time after he had stopped her from getting hit by a taco truck. But that was ancient history – how could it possibly still matter anymore? She hadn't been brave enough to broach the subject of the two of them as a romantic couple ever since then. In her mind, Carly had decided then and there that it was better to just put it behind them and focus on their friendship. She assumed that Freddie had wanted the same thing since he'd never broached the subject either.

But now, she was beginning to second-guess everything that had happened between them lately. They hadn't fought, not exactly. But Freddie had been distant and made snide comments under his breath whenever Sam and Carly talked about boys during iCarly rehearsals. Those had been the only occasions where she had seen him at her apartment in the past few days. Usually, he always found reasons to hang out at the Shays' home. Carly missed Freddie, but she certainly wasn't going to be the first one to apologise.

So instead of fuming about boys and their strange ways, Carly focused her attention on Spencer's latest sculpture, which was situated in the centre of the living room, where the coffee table was normally positioned. It wasn't much of a sculpture, but a new invention of her older brother's that he'd been working on for close to two weeks. Spencer called it the 'Mistletoe Matchmaker Machine'.

Basically, it was a tubular container made out of thick glass which could fit two people inside of it. Spencer had used the same design as the container he had used to trap Stew 'Spanky' Stimbler's son in when the hyperactive boy had started whacking Spencer with everything in sight while Stimbler and his partner used the Shay's apartment as a venue for a stake-out to catch a convenience store clerk who was allegedly selling pirated DVD's.

But instead of using it to trap people, Spencer had gotten the idea to hang some mistletoe on the ceiling of the container and induce people at the party to walk into it during the party and kiss each other as a long-standing Christmas tradition.

In addition, Spencer had decorated the outside of the container with Christmas lights and glitter to spruce it up. He had even kept the old drapes hung around the edges of the glass container in case any couple standing inside the box got a little too over-friendly. Carly really couldn't understand what had possessed Spencer to build a contraption like this, since most party-goers were just using it an excuse to play '7 Minutes in Heaven' during intervals.

As if he knew what she was thinking all along, Spencer was suddenly at Carly's side, yanking impatiently on her arm with an excited grin on his face a paper hat on his head.

"Carlaay! Are you having a good time at the party?" Spencer questioned loudly over the blaring music.

"Yeah, Spencer. I'm having oodles of fun," Carly answered sarcastically.

"Awesomesauce!" Spencer yelled back, missing the sarcasm in Carly's tone.

"Come try out the Mistletoe Matchmaker Machine," Spencer suggested eagerly.

"No thanks, Spencer." Carly replied assuredly.

"Give the triple M a shot."

"I really don't want to."

"I really must insist."

"Well I insist…harder."

"Nice try, but no cigar, kiddo. You're coming with me!" Spencer exclaimed confidently, taking Carly by the arm and steering her forward.

"No, Spencer! Let go of me! I don't wanna get into the triple M!" Carly protested hotly, but to no avail.

To her surprise, Spencer didn't put her inside the contraption right away, but walked her to where Freddie stood sipping on his punch. Then he took hold of Freddie with his other hand and began leading both him and Carly towards his latest invention.

"Spencer, don't you even think about it! Let go of me this instant!" Carly commanded reproachfully.

"Spencer, what are you doing? Where are you taking me and Carly?" Freddie questioned irritably.

"He's gonna put us in the triple M!" Carly replied impatiently.

"The Triple M? Wait, Spencer, I really don't wanna get in…" Freddie protested feebly, trying to dislodge himself from Spencer's steely grip.

In one swift manoeuvre, Spencer managed to place both Carly and Freddie inside the glass contraption, shutting the door behind them.

"Spencer, this is so not cool!" Freddie roared, pounding angrily on the glass door.

"Spencer, you let us out of here right now!" Carly yelled sternly.

"Oh come on, you two. Don't act like a bunch of fun sponges. Where's your Christmas spirit?" Spencer asked jovially.

"I'll show you my Christmas spirit as soon as you let me out of here!" Carly barked furiously.

"Come on, Spence, this is serious chizz. I get claustrophobic in tight spaces," Freddie pleaded in a whiny tone, his face mashed against the glass.

"You think you get claustrophobic? Right, because I was having the time of my life being trapped in a confined space with Sam and Pam during the one and only time they've ever spent in the company of a shrink trying to fix their whacky behaviour!" Carly snapped sarcastically.

"Calm down, you two! You know the rules: you only get to leave the cabinet after you've shared a friendly Christmas kiss," Spencer reminded, ignoring both their pleas.

"I'll let you out of here as soon as you're done," he added patiently.

Then he stepped back and watched as both Carly and Freddie stood in a very confined space together, regarding each other wearily and folding their arms stubbornly. Neither one was eager to initiate the kiss. Freddie scowled when Carly rolled her eyes impatiently with a furtive glance in Spencer's direction.

"Why do I have to make the first move?" Freddie complained loudly.

"Because you're the guy and guys always make the first move!" Carly hissed.

"I didn't think you'd have such a problem with it. You've tried every trick in the book over the years to try and kiss me," she added snidely.

"Oh, real funny, Carls. If you're going with that theory, then I could say the same thing about you too," Freddie retorted malevolently.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Carly demanded sharply.

"I didn't exactly kiss myself with casts on my arm and leg after I got hit by that taco truck, now did I?" Freddie asked with a triumphant smirk.

"I'm not seeing any kissing going on!" Spencer intercepted in a sing-song voice, stopping Carly from insulting Freddie back.

Carly and Freddie groaned in unison and glared pointedly at Spencer before turning to face each other again.

"Let's just get this over with," Carly mumbled resignedly.

"We'll lean in together after counting to 3," Freddie agreed rapidly.

"Just on the cheek at the same time. Got it?" Carly questioned pointedly.

"Fine by me," Freddie quipped maliciously.

Carly decided to ignore that and took a deep breath as she readied herself while Freddie did the same thing.

"Here goes," she whispered as if to herself alone.

"1…2…3…"

The two of them leaned into each other quickly, their lips making contact with each other cheeks. It was over in a matter of seconds and they pulled away just as rapidly.

"Alright, you've had your fun, Spencer. Now let me and Freddie out of here," Carly commanded in a no-nonsense tone.

"You got it. Another great thing about the Triple M is easy access: you step in, then you step right out…" Spencer trailed off as he tried to open the glass door and found his effort impeded.

"Uh oh," he mumbled softly.

"What's wrong, Spencer?" Freddie asked warily.

"Promise you won't get mad, ok?" Spencer pleaded nervously.

"That depends: am I gonna be getting out of this box in the next few seconds?" Carly demanded crisply.

"Maybe not," Spencer answered truthfully.

"What? Why?" Carly questioned angrily.

"Well…when I let you guys in, I only meant to just close the door behind you. But in my excitement, I think I locked the deadbolt too." Spencer explained rapidly.

"Oops," he added sheepishly.

"Oops?" Carly fumed irately.

"Well, where's is it? On the inside with me and Carly?" Freddie questioned in a business-like tone while surveying his surroundings.

"No, it's on the outside of the container," Spencer replied hurriedly.

"Well can't you just unlock it then?" Carly asked impatiently.

"I'm trying to unhook the clasp, but it's sort of…stuck." Spencer finished off pathetically.

"You mean we're trapped in here?" Freddie shrieked hysterically.

"Don't worry, I can fix this! I just need to grab my tool box from my bedroom!"

"Well, hurry up!" Carly exploded furiously.

"Ok!" Spencer squeaked in a frightened voice before jogging over to his bedroom.

"Hey, you guys. I hate to be a buzz-kill, but there are other couples waiting in the queue to get in the Triple M," Kathy piped up unexpectedly.

"Well, they're just gonna have to wait a little longer," Carly snapped rudely, causing Kathy to raise a miffed eyebrow.

"What's going on?" Sam asked laughingly with a turkey leg in her hand, both her and Gibby approaching the contraption.

"We're stuck in here!" Carly exclaimed furiously.

"No way! How did you manage that, Cupcake? Did Fredelupe trap the two of you in there on purpose?" Sam asked teasingly.

"Of course not, Sam! Spencer accidentally hit the dead-bolt and now it won't open!" Freddie replied impatiently.

"Awesome!" Gibby exclaimed eagerly.

"Not awesome, Gibby!" Freddie shot back in an annoyed tone.

"You're lucky there's a pane of glass separating me from you right now, Gibby." Carly fumed in a steely tone.

"Oh my God, this is so bad! Can you guys breathe in there?" Wendy asked anxiously.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine, just as soon as Carly stops yelling long enough for us to conserve what little oxygen we have left," Freddie said sarcastically.

"Ok, everyone! Don't panic, I have the situation under control!" Spencer yelled loudly as he came bounding into the living room with his toolbox in hand.

"Spence, are you sure you can fix this?" Gibby asked carefully.

"Of course I can fix it, Gibby. After all, I did build this device from scratch," Spencer answered somewhat defensively.

"I just meant that I can call my Grandpa to come take a look at it – he's really good at fixing stuff." Gibby amended seriously.

"Isn't this the same Grandpa who can't see?" Spencer demanded suspiciously.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Gibby mused laughingly, causing Kathy and Wendy to stare at him in confusion.

"Never mind, I've got a screw-driver. People, give me some room!" Spencer barked rapidly.

The crowd which had gathered around the Triple M parted to make way for Spencer while he knelt in front of the dead-bolt.

"How's it coming? Is the lock shifting?" Freddie pressed anxiously.

"No. But that's probably because I tried to dislodge the lock with a spanner," Spencer murmured sheepishly, realising he had accidentally picked up the wrong tool.

Carly clapped her forehead in frustration while Freddie pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Something tells me we would've been better off with Gibby's blind Grandpa fixing the Triple M instead," Sam smirked mildly.

In-between Spencer using a multitude of tools to jimmy the deadbolt open and failing miserably and the party continuing on all around them, Freddie and Carly remained standing in the glass booth, the Christmas lights reflecting off of their stony expressions.

"This is so not how I wanted to spend my time at the party," Freddie mumbled irritably, just loud enough for Carly to hear.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I'm sorry I ruined your chance to flirt with Kathy," Carly quipped malevolently.

"What is your deal, Carly? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous," Freddie snapped irritably.

"You think I'm jealous? I am so not jealous of you flirting with other girls," Carly protested defensively.

"Oh really? 'Cause you're sure acting like it right now." Freddie retorted angrily.

"I'd have to care to be jealous," Carly fumed vehemently.

"Of course, my bad. You were perfectly clear about where you stand at Webicon when you used the term, 'Oh God, no' to describe your feelings about the idea of you and me ever going out." Freddie spat sardonically.

"Well, can you blame me? You've been a complete jerk to me ever since Webicon. Why would I ever wanna date someone like you?" Carly demanded angrily.

"Search me. I'm nothing like your usual type: guys you can't have at all," Freddie spat callously.

"Guys, do you really think insulting each other is a good way to spend your time in the Triple M?" Gibby asked curiously.

"Shut up, Gibby!" Carly and Freddie snapped furiously in unison.

An hour later after much of the party-goers had dispersed, Spencer had made slow progress of easing the deadlock out of its position with liberal amounts of oil that he had sprayed along the edges. In that entire time, neither Freddie nor Carly had spoken to each other after their heated argument. Both of them looked relatively calmer than earlier, but decidedly more guilt-stricken. It didn't help that there was barely any space between the two of them, their bodies crammed together in their confined area.

Freddie wasn't slow in noticing that Carly's left eye began twitching in bizarre fashion and her shoulders were convulsing like a cellphone on vibrate.

"Carls, are you ok?" he asked slowly.

He became increasingly worried when she began making rolling her tongue between her teeth and making strange noises in the back of her throat.

"Nyagrwghy! I d-don't like c-c-onfined spaces!" Carly rambled, going slightly cross-eyed while she spoke.

"Carly, you're freaking out!" Freddie exclaimed in horror.

"Maybe you should try calming her down instead of stating the obvious, Dorkward." Sam snapped impatiently, having returned from the kitchen with a bowl of cold chilli.

"What do you want me to do?" Freddie retorted impatiently at Sam.

"How should I know? But you'd better do something fast before Carly starts trying to bash her way through the glass using just her head," Sam suggested nonchalantly.

Freddie deftly grabbed hold of Carly's wrists while she attempted to get into a better position to better kick at the glass container with her boot.

"Hold up, Carly. Just take it easy," Freddie chided as soothingly as he could muster.

"I can't, nyaanth! The walls are closing in all around me!" Carly wailed dramatically, her finger nails beginning to claw at the glass all around her.

"Come on, don't say that. What about earlier when you were chewing me out? You weren't freaking out then, were you?" Freddie asked kindly, trying to distract Carly.

"It was easier to get distracted from being trapped in a box when I was busy getting mad at you. But now that I've stopped being angry, it's all I can think about," Carly admitted with a deep shudder that rumbled through her whole chest.

"It's gonna be ok, Carls. Spencer's gonna get us out of here in no time," Freddie replied soothingly while rubbing her shoulders to help her relax.

Then Freddie moved his hand under Carly's face to lift her chin up so that she was looking at him.

"We're gonna get out of here soon, I promise." he murmured sincerely, locking eyes with her to drive his point home.

Carly murmured something unintelligible in response. But Freddie was satisfied with the fact that she was no longer convulsing.

All of the party-goers had finally gone home, save for Gibby and Sam, who were fighting over the TV remote while Spencer worked on getting Carly and Freddie out of the Mistletoe Matchmaking Machine. Carly and Freddie hadn't said much to each other since Carly's 'convulsing episode', but it seemed like they were finally ready to talk about things in a calm and rational manner.

"Freddie, I'm really sorry that I've been so mean to you the whole night, and for the past few days. I know it sucks being stuck in the Triple M. But for what it's worth, there's no one else I'd rather be stuck in here with than you," Carly declared earnestly, smiling for the first time all night.

Her arms were now positioned around Freddie's neck to stop herself from tripping on her high-heeled boots. Even though the position practically mashed her entire body up against Freddie's, it wasn't unpleasant in the least.

"Carly, there's nothing to be sorry about. I was the one being a jerk and all because my stupid ego got wounded. For what it's worth, getting stuck in the Triple M with you seems like the perfect way to spend an evening," Freddie replied truthfully, flashing Carly his signature smirk.

After chuckling briefly, Carly's face suddenly serious while she looked at Freddie, her arms tightening around his neck.

"About Webicon…were you really that upset when I said 'Oh God, no!' to that question about the two of us dating?"

"I wouldn't say I was upset more than I was surprised."

"Freddie."

"Ok, I was pretty upset. The way you said it…made it seem like the idea of the two of us dating repulsed you, like that accident with the taco truck never even happened. It kinda felt like a punch to the gut." Freddie admitted ruefully while avoiding Carly's eyes somewhat.

"Freddie, I'm sorry it came out that way, I totally didn't mean it like that. You're a great guy, Freddie, and any girl would be lucky to go out with you, especially me. When the crowd started asking about you and me dating and you and Sam dating, I just panicked, I guess because it caught me off guard. I didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea about the three of us doing iCarly together, especially Adam. I guess I didn't really think about how the words sounded until it was too late." Carly replied regretfully.

"I guess that's fair. You were just trying to diffuse the situation as best as you could. You should know that I did genuinely agree with you on that point at the time because I didn't want Adam to give you a hard time about it. I may not always be thrilled when you date other guys, but I just want you to be happy, Carls." Freddie declared loyally.

"That's really sweet, Freddie, and it means a lot to me that you always put our friendship ahead of your own feelings. But I think it's a moot point with Adam." Carly offered wryly.

"But I thought you liked Adam," Freddie stated in bewilderment.

"I did. But part of the reason why I've been so miserable lately is because he was so quick to believe that you and I and were secretly dating. And the worst part is that you were right about him all along and about this ridiculous habit of mine to always pick guys who ultimately can't make me happy." Carly mused mournfully with a weary sigh.

"That's not always true. Griffin was ok…until you made fun of his Pee Wee Babies," Freddie joked unexpectedly, causing Carly to begin laughing uproariously.

"If I remember correctly, you made fun of them too," Carly shot back laughingly.

"True. But I wasn't in love with him," Freddie returned smoothly.

"Thank God," Carly teased, which made Freddie chuckle before his face turned serious again.

"The truth is that I never really wanted it to work out between you and all those other guys. I guess I've always been waiting in the wings on the off chance that you might just change your mind about you and me. And there was almost a 'you and me' after my accident…" Freddie trailed off abashedly.

"I never wanted things to end between us, Freddie," Carly reminded seriously.

"I know, Carly. I made the decision to end things between us because I didn't want the fact that I saved your life to influence your feelings for me. I thought it was the right to do until…until you were sure about me." Freddie responded earnestly.

"And what do you think now?" Carly questioned softly.

"It's not about what I think. I never stopped loving you, Carly. What do you think?" Freddie asked hesitantly.

"Freddie, we're trapped in a glass container that my brother made with two inches of space between us. I don't know how many more crazy situations we're gonna be thrown into together before I finally quit stop being so stubborn about what I want. And what I want is you," Carly breathed sincerely, her nose grazing subtly against Freddie's.

"Are you sure I'm not just foreign bacon?" Freddie pressed worriedly.

"The only thing foreign about you is your ability to speak Spanish, Freddie." Carly murmured demurely, a wide grin etched onto her face.

"And I kinda like it," she added in a seductively husky tone.

Without thinking twice about it, Carly closed her eyes and pressed her lips firmly against Freddie's. Freddie emitted a surprised gulp before responding quite enthusiastically to Carly's kiss, closing his eyes in turn. Both Sam and Gibby sat upright on the sofa, their eyes glued unabashedly to the scene in front of them, their mouths agape in astonishment.

"Hey, the Triple M works!" Spencer exclaimed excitedly, throwing a happy look in Carly and Freddie's direction.

When Freddie and Carly broke apart after a few seconds, both of them were smiling widely and blushing profusely.

"That was, um…really great." Freddie offered shyly.

"Yeah, it really was." Carly agreed softly.

"So…what do you wanna do now?" Freddie asked awkwardly.

"Well, we are standing underneath some mistletoe. Why waste it?" Carly asked slyly.

"Me gusta el sonida de esa," Freddie murmured smoothly, which made Carly's heart-beat quicken all the more.

Carly pulled Freddie's head down and locked her arms even more tightly around his neck while she kissed him feverishly. Freddie's hands snaked around her petite waist to help her keep her balance while he reciprocated her kisses with similar eagerness. One of Carly's hands left Freddie's neck and moved behind her, yanking rapidly on a knob that had been digging into her back all the while. Without warning, the red drapes hanging outside the container closed abruptly, hiding the two lovestruck teenagers from view.

"That's weird, I thought I put the knob for the drapes outside the container," Spencer murmured in bewilderment, furrowing his right eyebrow in confusion.

"You must've mixed up the knob and the deadbolt," Gibby offered matter-of-factly.

"What a touching story. I'm starving, can we go grab something to eat at the Groovy Smoothie?" Sam questioned rapidly of Spencer.

"What about Carly and Freddie?" Spencer asked curiously.

"They'll be fine. A good half hour of making out should clear up that argument of theirs." Sam remarked slyly.

Spencer looked like he wanted to argue, but seemed to think better of it.

"I'll go grab my car keys," he announced quickly before jogging into his bedroom.

"Do you think they have any soup at the Groovy Smoothie?" Gibby inquired hopefully of Sam while they put on their jackets.

"I don't know, why?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"I wanna get some for my Grandpa to go," Gibby explained calmly.

"You really are some kind of weird, Gibby." Sam pointed out dryly.

Spencer came bounding back into the living room just as Gibby opened the front door.

"Should I tell them that I opened the deadbolt?" Spencer asked curiously while putting on his jacket and following Gibby out of the apartment.

"Nah, it's cool. They probably wouldn't notice anyway." Sam replied mischievously as she closed the front door behind her.

**End**

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Spanish Phrases:  
- "Me gusta el sonida de esa" = I like the sound of that


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